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HomeMy WebLinkAboutminutesPROCEEDINGS OF THE COMMON COUNCIL CITY OF OSHKOSH, WISCONSIN OlHKOlH ON THE WATER REGULAR MEETING held Tuesday, March 25, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. in the Council Chambers, City Hall. Mayor Tower presided. PRESENT: Council Members Tony Palmeri, Dennis McHugh, Bryan Bain, Paul Esslinger, Burk Tower, Jessica King and Mayor Frank Tower ALSO PRESENT: John Fitzpatrick, Acting City Manager, Pamela Ubrig, City Clerk, Lynn Lorenson, Assistant City Attorney and David Patek, Director of Public Works Council Member Palmeri read the Invocation. The Pledge of Allegiance was led by Damien Maynard. Mayor Tower explained Damien Maynard was from Carson City, Nevada and was walking to Washington D.C. in honor of the United States Troops. Consent Agenda The minutes of the March 11, 2008 meeting were presented as written. The Report of the City Manager was read. Robert Cornell, 548 West Smith Avenue, stated the City Manager's Report had the Dragon Boat Races listed for four days not three. Council Member Bain explained the Dragon Boat Races were September 19, 20 and 21St and the City Managers Report needed to reflect those dates. The bills were presented in the amount of $6,506,355.01. The report of the City Clerk was read. Resolution 08-95 Approve Sale of Surplus Property /Marine Drive Area Resolution 08-96 Approve Acquisition / 649 West 9t" Avenue Resolution 08-97 Approve Change Order No. 1, Public Works Contract No. 07-08 (Northeast Asphalt Inc., -$21,107.96) Resolution 08-98 Award Bid for Public Works Contract No. 08-06 /Sidewalk Rehab 1 (Fischer-Ulman Construction, $481,530.25) Proceedings of the Common Council -March 25, 2008 Resolution 08-99 Approve Initial Resolution -Paving, Grading and Graveling, Sidewalk, Driveway Approach, Utilities -Wisconsin Street, Ohio Street and Witzel Avenue Resolution 08-100 Approve Initial Resolution -Paving, Sidewalk, Driveway Approach, Utilities - New York Avenue Resolution 08-101 Approve Resolution Directing the Advertisement and Sale of Water Revenue Bond Anticipation Notes, Series 2008-C /Not to Exceed $6,880,000 Resolution 08-102 Approve Location for Filming /Universal Studios /Public Enemies Council Member Esslinger stated he was excited to have the filming of the movie PublicEnemies in Oshkosh. He stated the founder of Universal Studios was an Oshkosh native. He expressed the importance of communication pertaining to street and parking lot closures during filming. Council Member Palmeri questioned if staff was aware of the streets that would be closed off and for what length of time. Council Member Bain questioned as staff was notified of street closings or other related information if they would put that on the website along with notices sent to Council. He stated that flexibility among the City as a whole would be a key issue. He questioned if the City would bill Universal Studios for the cost of filming the movie here. Mr. Fitzpatrick stated Universal Studios would reimburse the City. He stated updates and notification would be available in a timely manner. Resolution 08-103 Approve Miscellaneous Licenses MOTION: ADOPT CONSENT AGENDA (Esslinger; second, McHugh) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Palmeri, McHugh, Bain, Esslinger, Tower, King, Mayor Tower Action Taken on Ordinances and Resolutions Ordinance 08-104 Approve Zone Change / 501-531 East Parkway Avenue and 520-532 Broad Street MOTION: ADOPT (Esslinger; second, Bain) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Palmeri, McHugh, Bain, Esslinger, Tower, King, Mayor Tower Ordinance 08-105 Approve Zone Change / 2088 and 2092 Witzel Avenue MOTION: ADOPT (Esslinger; second, McHugh) CARRIED: Ayes (6) Palmeri, McHugh, Bain, Tower, King, Mayor Tower 2 Present (1) Esslinger Council Member Esslinger stated he would be vote present due to his employer's involvement. Proceedings of the Common Council -March 25, 2008 Ordinance 08-106 Approve Parking Commission Coordinator FIRST READING; LAID OVER UNDER THE RULES Ordinance 08-107 Amend Fees /Health Services Division FIRST READING; LAID OVER UNDER THE RULES Ordinance 08-108 Approve Council Member /Mayor Salary Increase FIRST READING; LAID OVER UNDER THE RULES Robert Cornell, 548 W. Smith Avenue, stated the salary increase was not out of line, but recommended it be effective April 2010. He explained it would give Council two years to budget and current Council Members would not benefit from the increase. Dan Rylance, 602 E. Parkway Avenue, stated a third party should look at the salaries every two to five years. He stated he hoped Council would approve the increase for those to follow in office. Ordinance 08-109 Approve Preliminary Plat /Bristol Square Subdivision MOTION: ADOPT (Esslinger; second, Bain) CARRIED: Ayes (7) Palmeri, McHugh, Bain, Esslinger, Tower, King, Mayor Tower Ken Bender, 806 Oak Street, explained Western Drive does not go through to Snell Road. He stated the practical way, would be to go out to County Road Y where there were traffic lights. He stated coming out on Highway 76 would be too hard to get out and would create a mess with traffic. Don Grenier, 580 Norton Avenue, stated with the present economy and foreclosures, it was not the time to open up the streets. He explained the area may not have many homes going up in the beginning, but the City would spend tax money to maintain the roads. Tom Rusch, 3801 Highway 21, explained the DOT would allow one access point on Highway 76 with no other access roads within 1,000 feet of another. He stated the Norton Avenue access would be removed. Jerry Frey, Chairman for the Town of Oshkosh, 4804 Island View Drive, stated the DOT denied request for access onto Highway 76 unless one access was removed. He stated there would be a special Town Meeting April 3rd with the Town's attorney present. He requested to have Mr. Burich and someone from Rusch Homes present to answer questions. He stated the Town Board had not taken any action on the request. He stated he felt the Town of Oshkosh residents were content with their community the way it was. He stated he was not recommending the 3 Council to make any decisions because a preliminary plat was nothing set in stone. He explained the Town was willing to work with people. Proceedings of the Common Council -March 25, 2008 Council Member McHugh questioned what happened to the plan with access to Highway 76. He stated everyone was sure the DOT would allow the access. He stated if the Town of Oshkosh denied access connection it was a mute point. He stated the City would not override the Town's vote. He questioned the reason to vote on the preliminary plat with uncertainties of the final plat going through. Council Member Bain questioned if the Town Board had taken action on the request. He questioned if the meeting on the 3rd was the first step to taking action. He questioned when the earliest date to vacate would be. He questioned if neither access to Jackson Street or Neilson Drive was approved then when the final was brought back to council it could be denied. Council Member Tower questioned what Mr. Frey would like to see Council do on the preliminary plat. He questioned if he was willing to work with people. Mayor Tower questioned if the preliminary plat was approved, but nothing was worked out for the final, could the final be denied. Council Member Palmeri questioned if the land use proposal was consistent with the City's comprehensive plan. Mr. Burich, Director of Planning, explained if agreements were not met, the final would be denied. He explained if neither access was approved he would not bring the plat final back to Council. He stated the preliminary plat set a vision. He explained if Council was not happy with the land use or street proposal then the Council could reject the preliminary plat, if Council was ok with the lay out, he recommended approval with the conditions provided. He stated the proposal was consistent with the City's comprehensive plan. Citizen Statements Ken Bender, 806 Oak Street, stated the Council did not work with people due to their denial of Loren's CUP extension. Bonnie Alexander, 1585 Maricopa Drive, stated her opposition to the retention pond and would prefer the land be sold off as residential property. She explained her concerns with bugs, rodents, geese, individuals using the nature trail and overflow of water. She questioned if value of homes would depreciate, and if flooding did occur in homes would the City cover the cost of damages and would the City have more police coverage in the area. She questioned if the City had enough man power to maintain the land. She stated one of Council's main concerns was to keep inflation down. Robert Cornell, 548 W. Smith Avenue, stated his concerns and disappointment of the timeline for hiring a new City Manager. He stated various concerns for the Leach Amphitheater, such as booking of the facility and he would like to see consideration in allowing organizations to use the facility at a reasonable cost. He stated the amphitheater was a great asset on the Fox River and 4 he would like to see it grow. Damien Maynard, thanked the City, Ed Wilcox and Ginger Campbell for their hospitality during his stay in the community. Proceedings of the Common Council -March 25, 2008 Council Member Statements Council Member Palmeri stated that on the city's website there was a lack of uniformity with minutes, some were not available and others go back several years. He questioned the chemical treatment used in Miller's Bay and would like an accurate account of chemical usage. He stated the City had applied for a permit to use chemical treatment in Miller's Bay in 2002, however it was denied due to the endangered fish, plant or species. Council Member Bain stated the "Fifth Tuesday Forum" notes were available on his website. He announced the next "Fifth Tuesday Forum" meeting would be held on April 29t" at 6:00 p.m. and the location was to be announced. Council Member Esslinger responded to the editorials published in the paper regarding the Council defying open government. He stated he had been on Council 8 years and Mr. Palmeri and Mr. Bain had done a great job making sure the Council complied with open meetings. He questioned Ms. Lorenson on the Council's practice with open meeting regulations. He responded to the references made to him in the editorials. He stated he complied with all open meeting laws. He explained the statement pertaining to his talking to a potential new manager of the Leach Amphitheater. He stated he was questioned by Joe Ferlo at an open meeting as to how the process was to go through for a proposal to Council for managing the amphitheater. He explained disciplinary action with a staff member was not done openly with the staff and that was completely appropriate. He stated the media should report on the news not create it. He stated the Council voted in favor of increasing the Convention Center renovation cost to be sure to get a quality venue and the bids had gone over by 50%. He questioned how the bids would be reduced and if that meant lowering the quality along with the timeline of the project. He stated there had been individuals questioning the possible use of the Centre for June 2008. Council Member McHugh questioned the logic of polling bidders and if it would jeopardize the choosing of a bidder. He stated in the past, the sign division had placed bike route signs, painted bike lanes on the roads and passed out pamphlets showing the routes to the community. Council Member King questioned the reason the Bike Sub Committee terminated and she would like to see the committee repopulated. She stated citizens were questioning her as to how bicyclists were treated. She questioned when notification of the near east neighborhood meeting would be sent out to residents. She stated since the Energy and Environmental committee had been televised there would be more of a community baseline. Council Member Tower requested he would like a workshop in the summer regarding sustainability as a government. Mayor Tower explained our Council allowed citizens comments whereas most communities allow 5 citizens to comment in beginning of meeting and address agenda items within 10-15 minutes. He stated he would like to see members from different boards, as well as citizens participate on the Bike Sub Committee. He stated the urban deer workshop would start following the Council Meeting. He reminded the Council of the upcoming workshops on April 8t" was the IFW and the near east neighborhood update would be April 22"d Proceedings of the Common Council -March 25, 2008 Mr. Fitzpatrick stated there was no policy regarding the minutes on the city website, but he would look into that. He stated he would try to get historical records for the use of chemical treatment in Miller's Bay. He explained the City does not want to reduce the quality of the convention center. He explained the individuals would be contacted to find out why they did or did not bid. He explained that lump sum bidding had advantages that generally attract more bidders; however the disadvantage was not having a detailed cost of items. He explained renovations had been pushed back; looking like it could open in February 2009. He stated the City did not pad bids, he explained the bid was unusual and that was the reason for further review. He stated funds were budgeted in the 2008 CIP for the bicycle plan. He explained the sub committee was located under the Parks Committee. He stated he would take the issue back to the department heads to discuss the interplay between the staff participation and consult with legal staff as to how to get the committee active. He stated notification was to be sent out regarding the near east neighborhood meeting. He stated a representative, Brian Drisco, from Governor Doyle's new Energy and Advisory Council, was encouraged with activities the Energy and Environmental Committee had taken and there maybe some financial support available. Ms. Lorenson explained she had a conversation with the editor of the editorials printed March 16t" and his concerns were regarding what might fall under Council Member Statements. She explained state law requirements for notices are general there were no specifics. She stated there were several options to change the titles in the agenda. She explained taking Council Member Statements out was not a good idea. She stated citizens had ample opportunities to speak at Council Meetings. She explained Council had control of the rules, so changes could be made. Mr. Stephany, Parks Director, stated there had not been a Bike Sub Committee for the last 13-14 years since he started with the City. He questioned who would be responsible for heading the committee. Whatever Else is Pertinent or for the Good of the City Mr. Fitzpatrick announced the public meeting for the storm water management proposal location was changed from Westhaven Golf Course to City Hall room 404 at 6:30 p.m. He stated the storm water retention pond location on Washburn Street was not the most effective location, the water quality was not as good and it would be eliminating potential commercial property. He stated due to the early snowfall leaf collection was not completed last fall and as the snow melts trucks would be going around and collecting those piles that had been left on the curbs. He stated there will be a spring cleaning garbage pick up at the end of April, weather permitting. Council Member McHugh stated he would like to hear an overall view on returning to the 6 Washburn site. MOTION: ADJOURN (Esslinger; second, Bain) CARRIED: VOICE VOTE The meeting adjourned at 7:34 p.m. PAMELA R. UBRIG CITY CLERK